Applied Optoelectronics’ (AAOI) Buy Rating Reiterated at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities restated their buy rating on shares of Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Rosenblatt Securities currently has a $44.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. B. Riley lowered Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Northland Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Price Performance

AAOI opened at $25.19 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.92. Applied Optoelectronics has a 1 year low of $6.70 and a 1 year high of $44.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.23 and a beta of 2.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.07). Applied Optoelectronics had a negative net margin of 38.61% and a negative return on equity of 22.36%. Analysts forecast that Applied Optoelectronics will post -1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William H. Yeh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total transaction of $430,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 223,538 shares in the company, valued at $9,630,017.04. This trade represents a 4.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stefan J. Murry sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $126,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 212,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,728,731.88. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,088 shares of company stock worth $1,672,801. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Optoelectronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 75.8% in the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 235,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,374,000 after buying an additional 101,640 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics by 2.8% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 410,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,869,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Optoelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,319,000. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in Applied Optoelectronics by 2.7% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 526,458 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 13,737 shares in the last quarter. 61.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic networking products in the United States, Taiwan, and China. It offers optical modules, optical filters, lasers, laser components, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key equipment, headend, node, distribution equipment, and amplifiers.